College Football Week 2: Lace up the shoes

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Will the return of starting quarterback Caleb TerBush (pictured above) help propel Purdue to a huge victory over rival Notre Dame? Don’t count on it.

By Josh Kramer

Week 1 ended up providing a little fun.  As is typically the case though, it was littered with blowouts.  Even the “marquee” matchup (Alabama vs Michigan) ended up being a butt-whipping.  Unfortunately, Week 2 doesn’t get a whole lot better.  Blame the current BCS system (which will not be around that much longer) for turning non-conference play into mismatch play as teams look to pad their resumes with lopsided victories.

Here are the marquee matchups:

Purdue at Notre Dame:  Fighting Irish by 10

Headline:  Fighting Irish “outfight” Purdue for the Shillelagh Trophy.

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Super Bowl XLVI Preview

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Tom Brady (pictured above) was not a happy man four years ago as he exited the field following a loss in Super Bowl XLII. Do not expect the same outcome on Sunday.

By Josh Kramer

Coughlin vs. Belichick.  Manning (Eli) vs. Brady.  New York vs. Boston.  It does not get any better than the scenario that has been set up for Super Bowl XLVI.  There are millions of storylines floating around about America’s most anticipated sporting event of the year.  And 99.9% of the storylines will be moot come Sunday at 6:29PM, when the ball is kicked off in the “House that Peyton Built (Lucas Oil Stadium).”  Four years ago to the day, these two teams representing two of the biggest sports markets in the world met in Glendale, Arizona for rights to the Lombardi Trophy.  If Sunday’s rematch can be half as good as what America was able to witness four years ago, the game will be a memorable one.

For nearly two weeks, we have been well aware of the matchup on Sunday for football’s biggest prize.  And for two weeks, this game has been dissected and analyzed until I feel like there is nothing more to discuss.  It gets to the point every year where it is time to just play the game.  When the analysis and incite loses its luster.  I feel like we have hit that point.  Just like any big sporting event, this game will likely come down to one or two key plays.  Four years ago, “The Catch” was the play that in essence ended Brady, Moss, and New England’s remarkable attempt at football immortality.  Who will make the play this year that changes history?

Super Early College Football Top Five

Photo courtesy of Louisianasportstalk.com. Les Miles (pictured above) did not prepare his team the way he should have for the National Championship Game. Expect his LSU Tigers to walk away with the National Championship in January of 2013.

By Josh Kramer

The late-great basketball coach Skip Prosser once told me, “If you can’t be on time, be early.”  Well in this case, I am going to be super early.  The big game, which unfortunately did not end up being “big” by any means, concluded the College Football season on Monday night.  And despite a very disappointing finish to what had been a magical season in Baton Rouge, good things are ahead for the Tigers.  Who really cares if the season just ended, Spring Ball is right around the corner as die-hard fans across the country pray their team will be “the” team in 2012 and early 2013.  Here is an early look ahead.

Top Five:

1.  LSU Tigers:  Do not let Monday’s game take away from what this team accomplished this past season.  Eight wins against ranked foes.  Five of those on the road.  Plus this team returns the majority of it’s vaunted defense, including the Honey Badger and Eric Reid.  In addition, find me a better stable of running backs.   LSU was the nation’s best team in 2011.  They just didn’t finish the job.  Also, next year, their schedule is much more favorable.  The Tide have to come to Baton Rouge and the non-conference slate is not exactly mind-boggling (N. Texas, Idaho, Washington, Towson).

National Championship Game Preview

Photo courtesy of al.com. No player has been more exciting this season than LSU's Tyrann Mathieu (pictured above). Will he lead his team to a National Championship on Monday night?

By Josh Kramer

Welcome to the thunder dome.  All eyes will be on the mythical “Superdome” come Monday night as the National (SEC) Championship game transpires.  SEC West rumble.  Old coach versus new coach.  Honey Badger versus Richardson.  “Game of the Century Part Deux.”  Grab your popcorn, because this game is poised to be far better than any movie.

The majority of the country tuned in to the “Game of the Century Part 1” back on November 5th.  And unfortunately, many were disappointed by Round 1 of the heavily hyped game (I was not).  Well have no fear, the points will be here on Monday night.  With a month to prepare, despite phenomenal defenses, the O’s will at least put up one touchdown apiece (no touchdowns on November 5th).

Week 10 lived up to the hype

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. In the "Game of the Century," LSU kicker Drew Alleman (pictured above) ended up being the difference maker.

By Josh Kramer

Though Week 10 centered around one battle of College Football’s goliaths, the overall matchups were not too shabby.  There were great games all across the land, highlighted of course by the showdown in Tuscaloosa that lived up to the hype.

Game of the Century lived up to the hype

College Football Week 10: I remember when

Photo courtesy of espn1420.com. Saturday night's showdown in Tuscaloosa may come down to which team gets the better quarterback play. Can the senior duo of Jordan Jefferson (left) and Jarrett Lee (right) outdo standout sophomore AJ McCarron?

By Josh Kramer

Week 9 of the College Football was “mighty fine.”  It was highlighted by a Braxton Miller hail mary toss and a very gutsy triple overtime win by the Standford Cardinal at the Coliseum.  But this is the week we have all been waiting for.  The “Game of the Year” is set to take place in Tuscaloosa Saturday night.  Grab your popcorn.  There will be some fireworks when number one takes on number two.

Here are the marquee matchups.

South Carolina at Arkansas:  Razorbacks by 7

Headline:  The lack of Lattimore kills the Gamecocks at Razorback Stadium.

Weekly Nickel 10-31-2011

Photo courtesy of coacheshotseat.com. Can Les Miles (pictured above) pull a rabbit out of his hat and lead his Tigers over the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night?

By Josh Kramer

Halloween is always a wild time for obvious reasons.  It is the one time of year where you can dress however you want and go unnoticed.  This weekend though, was highly noticeable in terms of the wide world of sports.  Saturday night was arguably the best night of College Football we have had all year.  Sunday was full of thrills and surprises.  And the Fall Classic had its first Game 7 since 2002.

Here are the events to keep an eye on this week.

5.  So a month of games are gone.  That is a shame for sure, but at least some progress was temporarily made.  The insanity and chaos that I witnessed at the end of last week into this weekend demonstrated to me that we have a very good shot of at least having a partial season.  Both sides want to make this deal happen.  It is just a matter of getting over the 2% conflict.  If I had to guess, I would say we will be seeing the game’s biggest stars by January.  This is a bummer in that the Christmas lineup was set to be epic.

College Football Preview

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Les Miles (pictured above) and the LSU Tigers last won a national title when they defeated Ohio State in the Superdome back in 2007. Will the Tigers be able to take home another title in the Superdome this year?

By Josh Kramer

College Football opening night is just a week away.  Hard to believe in that it feels like just yesterday that we watched Cam Newton and the Auburn Tigers handle business in Glendale, Arizona.  When is College GameDay coming to your town?

Here are my predictions for the season ahead.

ACC Champion:  Florida State Seminoles

“Food for Thought 1-11-11”

 

Former San Diego State and Ball State Coach, Brady Hoke (pictured above), is the new Head Coach at Michigan. Can he live up to the high expectations in Ann Arbor?

What a last 24 hours in the sporting world.  Major headlines galore.  It is a heck of a time to be a sporting fan.  And I pose the question to you.  When is it not a good time to be a sports fan in this day and age?

Here is a look at some of the main topics going on.

SEC Supremacy Continues

Most of you probably tuned in to  the BCS National Title game last evening.  From the record-setting TV ratings, it is very likely actually that you watched this game.  Well either way, you are aware that an SEC School brought home the title for an unprecedented 5th consecutive years. Though an entertaining game, it came nowhere near the 2006 National Title matchup between Vince Young’s Longhorns and the supposedly “unbeatable” (and cheating)” USC Trojans.  The game last night went somewhat as I expected.  The first quarter was a demonstration of both teams crapping their pants.  Neither team executed offensively the way they are capable of.  Consequently, neither team put up any points.  This is typical with the nerves that come from playing in a National Championship game.  Ultimately, the game came down to the wrist of Auburn’s Freshman Running Back, Michael Dyer.  What a game for the Freshman out of Little Rock.  But nobody wanted the game to come down to a call that is still very debatable in my eyes.  So it was a fun game to watch regardless of the sloppy play.  But here are some key takeaways.

-Number one, give me a playoff.  Neither of these teams had played a game in well over a month, and boy did it show.  That was not the Oregon offense that averaged over 49 points a game this season.  Now kudos to Mr. Fairley, and Auburn’s defense, which put together a stellar effort, but the time off hurt Oregon.  In addition, that was not the Cam Newton that we watched in the SEC Championship game against South Carolina.  Sure Newton played well, and did enough to win, but much of his momentum had been lost.

-Also, my apologies to TCU.  Sure they are acting like they do not care and are very happy with a year in which they got to win the prestigious Rose Bowl.  But you are going to tell me that they did not want or deserve some sort of shot at the title?

-I realize that the game was on the West Coast, but it went entirely too late.  Anybody who worked yesterday had to be struggling to stay awake for the 4th quarter. 

How does it feel to know that you were at best the 3rd choice for a job?

I will admit that statement above is a bit harsh, yet it is true.   Jim Harbaugh passed.  Les Miles passed (whether Michigan’s AD admits it or not).  And now Brady Hoke is the new coach in Ann Arbor.  Boy does he have a tall task ahead of him.  Yet, I have a good feeling about this guy for some reason.  Maybe it is the optimist in me, but the winningest program in NCAA history will eventually have to turn things around.  People will just have to be patient.  Former Wolverines like Charles Woodson, Tom Brady, and Lloyd Carr all rave about this guy.  Believe me, they are not being forced to hype this guy up.  They could always just give a “no comment” or an extremely generic answer.  These guys seem ecstatic to have this Hoke guy running things in the The Big House.  I just have one piece of advice for Mr. Hoke as he steps into his supposed “dream job.”  Make sure to put up an over 500 record in The Big House.  Or Hoke will be let out the back door inside of 3 years without questions asked.

The Closer Shuts the Door

It is hard to fathom, but the time has come.  Trevor Hoffman is finally hanging up the cleats.  Arguably the greatest closer of all time, Hoffman is calling it quits after 17 years.  He retires with 601 saves, the most in MLB history (41 ahead of Mariano Rivera).  Will the game ever see a closer hit 600 saves again? In an era where consistent relief pitchers are few and far between, Hoffman flourished over the better part of 2 decades.  The MLB will definitely miss this sure-fire Hall of Famer.  Cincinnati has to be kicking themselves for not keeping the kid that they drafted out of Arizona University in 1989. 

So I realize there are many other major headlines going on today.  Ron Rivera was hired as the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers.  Ed Reed has returned to his 2nd family, the Baltimore Ravens, after tending to some family business.  And the NHL has revealed their All Star Roster in full.

Please steer any questions or thoughts you have to the comments section or shoot me an email at contact@thesportskraze.com

Stay tuned for the next edition of TheSportsKraze.

-TheSportsKraze